The sector has to find new ways to look at the entire interaction between the patient, doctor and the knowledge empowered team which includes the nurse and the Asha workers who are the nerve center of India's rural healthcare sector. Through telemedicine, this knowledge is moving into a wider ecosystem.Sneha Jha | ETCIO | February 23, 2017, 08:17 IST

Ever wondered what is the value of a human body in monetary terms? Take a wild guess.

Well, actually, the human body is estimated is to be worth over $ 7000 trillion. That is 50 percent of the world’s GDP. Yes, you read it right. Speaking at the recently concluded Microsoft Future Decoded 2017, Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group gave an insight into the complex processing capacity of the human anatomy. If you break down the processing capacity of the brain, the manufacturing capacity of the liver and the pumping capacity of the heart, you have one of the world’s most complex systems. It comes as no surprise that the human body is the most complex machine in the world.

Technology is playing a key role in deconstructing the complexities relating to this masterpiece machinery. There was a time when technology in healthcare was confined to using the latest healthcare devices and surgical equipment. At Apollo, we have tried to be at the cutting edge of technology. Whether it was pioneering the use of robotic surgery or carrying out South Asia’s first photon therapy, Apollo always took the center stage in health care technology adoption,” she said.

But, in today’s day and age, healthcare technology has moved way beyond that adoption model. The healthcare sector can no longer be lulled into that sense of complacency. It's about new methods of healthcare delivery and new processes of preventive and predictive medication.

Today, healthcare technology is about responding to an evolving customer who is informed, empowered, impatient, socially connected and decisive. We are looking at the changing paradigms coming into the healthcare sector. They are driven by cloud and the data deluge. The point of care is shifting from the hospital to the clinic and into the home.

Reddy acknowledged the three major forces disrupting the healthcare delivery model. “Biology, bytes and bandwidth will reimagine the future of healthcare. Biology and genealogy will help predict disease patterns. Bytes will improve the processing of healthcare data and bandwidth will help us connect rural India with best in class healthcare services. These forces are strengthened by the entire SMAC environment,” she perdicted.

The sector has to find new ways to look at the entire interaction between the patient, doctor and the knowledge empowered team which includes the nurse and the Asha workers who are the nerve center of India's rural healthcare sector. Through telemedicine, this knowledge is moving into a wider ecosystem.

In the wake of this developments, we will see a shift in the paradigm of healthcare. There will be a big change is the way we look at healthcare. Traditionally, healthcare has been about sick care. We look at the cost, healthcare access, and affordability. These three parts of the triangle were the paradigm of treating illness. “Now with technology we can we change redesign the pyramid. Keeping these three factors intact we look towards a preventive aspect of health care where we can reduce the cost, enhance the access through simple wearables, point of care testing and simple protocols can be carried out by the nurse of Asha workers to bring healthcare to your doorstep and treat you at a preventative early stage,” she stated.

The paradigms are shifting also in the way technology is influencing the usage of medical facilities. Surgical procedures are becoming minimally invasive. Earlier there used to be a 17-inch cut to do an operation now only three tiny holes can help accomplish the surgical outcome.

With AI and machine learning the healthcare can scale the skill and use this capability to address the shortage of doctors and healthcare workers. These technologies will help re-engineer the health care ecosystem.